Third baseman Travis Shaw slugged the first two home runs of his major league career and had four RBIs as the Boston Red Sox overcame another shaky start from Joe Kelly in an 11-7 win over the Tampa...

"I hope there will be a more positive reaction to these rules changes and get the Senate back into the business of what it's supposed to be, the most deliberative body in the body politic of America," Durbin said.

If there had been no compromise and Democrats tried to force changes without the approval of Republicans, there likely would have been partisan fights that turned the chamber into knots.

Since 2007, Reid has filed nearly 400 cloture motions to stop Republican-backed filibusters. He stopped less than half of them with the needed 60 votes.

In the other cases, Republicans blocked legislation, even though most senators backed it. Critics complained they were effectively violating a basic tenet of democracy - majority rule.

Filibuster proponents say procedural roadblocks are needed to protect the rights of the minority and force the majority to compromise.

A number of Senate Democrats defend the right to filibuster, reasoning they will be in the minority at some point and will want to use it.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley applauded the rule change, but preferred tougher curbs on filibusters that are ostensibly waged to give senators more time to debate.

"If 41 senators vote for more debate, then senators should have the courage of their convictions to stand on the floor and make their case," Merkley said. "Then the American people could decide if obstructing senators are heroes or bums."